Monday, April 15, 2013

Celebrating the Return of Spring (we hope!)

The snow has started to melt again and we're getting that taste of spring finally - bright blue skies, warm sun, and MELTING snow.  While we wait for the snow to melt completely, the animals have been hanging in their favorite spots: 



When it's not the fireplace, it's the bed.  Specifically my side (of course).  This is also how they typically sleep at night.  Imagine me somewhere in the middle of that. 


Isn't it nice how they all get along? Here's a closeup of Zeus.  He doesn't get a lot of facetime on the blog because he's usually sleeping in a cabinet somewhere.  He's not hiding, he just really loves confined spaces.


To celebrate the onset of spring and Andy's rapidly approaching birthday at the end of the month, we went to Home Depot on Saturday and bought a new grill! 


I had initially tried to order Andy a grill online.  Amazon had exactly what I wanted at a great price...but when I went to give them my money, Amazon said they wouldn't ship it to Alaska (which makes sense because the site said "free shipping anywhere in the U.S." which obviously excludes Alaska).  I also tried to order directly through at least five other websites and attempted the "ship to store" option at Home Depot, Lowes, Target, and Walmart, which allows you to ship to any store in the U.S. except to Alaska.  My coworker even took a trip to Fred Meyer to check inventory for me!  Finally I found a very similar model in stock at Home Depot and went for it (I was trying to buy the "platinum" series, and they only had the "gold").  I had to let Andy in on the plan because I wanted to make sure it was just what he wanted.  Once he gave the thumbs up, we hit the store and picked up the ginormous box...and a cover, a coal chimney (since the "gold" doesn't come with the propane starter), a new brush/scraper and a huge bag of charcoal.  You're welcome, economy!

We had to put the grill/table situation together ourselves and that was quite the ordeal.  The first one we bought had a broken tabletop, so we took it back, got another one, brought that home and discovered that some of the connector pieces on the frame were broken.  So I took the pieces back and the Home Depot guy helped me dig through the box to find what I needed.  After three trips to the store, and some choice swear words while trying to "read" the picture-only instruction manual, it was perfect and ready to use!


Andy grilled delicious steaks on Saturday and really yummy bbq chicken on Sunday.  Obviously I was giving a selfish birthday present to him because I get to enjoy the fruits of his culinary efforts.  Aren't I the best wife ever? Also, you may not be able to tell, but the snow is really melting away - promise! 

Now we just need some deck chairs...and for the temp to get above 40! 


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